Beat

The LA Galaxy may have just returned from Mexico City, but the focus is already turning to Saturday’s clash with the San Jose Earthquakes in the first-ever Central California Cup.

On Wednesday, myself and the rest of the LAGalaxy.com headed up the state ahead of Thursday’s match between LA Galaxy II and the Fresno Fuego, which will serve as the inaugural match for the USL PRO side. Just two days later, the Galaxy first team will make the same trek to face the Earthquakes.

MEXICO CITY – The LA Galaxy fell 2-1 to Pumas UNAM in a closed-door scrimmage in Mexico City on Tuesday.

Below are a few thoughts from the match…

*The Mexico City altitude was a major factor in the match as the Galaxy players began the match sluggishly. During the opening 35 minutes, Pumas controlled the tempo until the Galaxy were able to threaten with a few late chances. The narrative repeated itself in the second stanza as Pumas again dominated proceddings early before LA grabbed a late goal. Although there will be no altitude factor when the Galaxy take on Club Tijuana in March, they will be making several trips this year to Colorado and Salt Lake. Plus, if LA is successful against Tijuana and Cruz Azul bounces Sporting KC, the Galaxy will be back in “D.F.” in April for the CONCACAF Champions League Semifinals.

*In what was a lackluster first half, forwards Rob Friend and Samuel put forth another strong performance. Both strikers were unlucky not to score in the early moments and each showed impressive grit up top against a physical Pumas defense. Samuel, in particular, was quite dangerous as he repeatedly dropped into midfield to create scoring opportunities.

*The 2014 season is very important for Chandler Hoffman and against Pumas the 23-year-old forward was one of the game’s most impressive players. Partnered alongside the inexperienced Bradford Jamieson IV in the second half, Hoffman was dangerous and he repeatedly tested the UNAM back four. Just moments after coming into the match, Hoffman nearly pulled the Galaxy level but saw his chance sail just wide. Undeterred, the industrious Hoffman helped create LA’s only goal as he forced the corner that led to Kyle Venter’s goal.

*In addition to getting a goal, Venter and his partner in central defense, Leonardo performed well in the second half, limiting UNAM’s scoring opportunities despite the Mexican side controlling possession. The Brazilian in particular was able to make several last ditch clearances including one that prevented a late Pumas breakaway.

*After struggling against FC Shirak, goalkeeper Jaime Penedo’s timing was much improved against the Mexican side. The Panamanian international made several timely clearances against Pumas after several costly turnovers against FC Shirak.

During his 45 minute shift, Ishizaki was stationed in the center of midfield in front of defensive counterweight Baggio Hušidić as LA tried out a 4-1-3-2 formation during the first stanza. However, Ishizaki admittedly struggled to make an impact early.

“It was brutal. My first 25 minutes, I could not catch my breath. It was very tough. After 25 minutes, I got into the game and felt a lot better,” said Ishizaki. “But we played against a Mexican team with a style that we’re probably going to face when we play Tijuana and it was good to see that style first hand.”

“In our half, we did an okay job. We didn’t move our feet quick enough and we let them play through us too easily. I think that was because we didn’t have the energy to be quick,” Ishizaki continued. “The elevation played a part a little bit, but we train every day to be able to do these things. We weren’t able to do it today against a team in the middle of their season, despite having a month left of preseason.’

Although he was unable to get forward frequently on Tuesday, Ishizaki, who is likely to play wide on the right during the regular season, was pleased with the chance to play centrally against Pumas.

Said Ishizaki, “I like it. I like it a lot better when I’m fitter and I can make runs and support the strikers while also go down and get the ball from the back four. I like it when I’m fitter, but it was okay, particularly in the last 25 minutes of the half.”

And as for the altitude and travel to Mexico City? Ishizaki believes that the experience will serve LA well as the season begins.

“It was a good exercise. We have to get use to the travel and we’re going to play at elevation so it’s good to get used to it,” said Ishizaki. “I’m not used to it after playing in Europe. It was a good experience for me and now I have some idea what to expect.”

It turns out all Club Tijuana needed to return to winning ways was a little home cooking.

Back at the Estadio Caliente, Dario Benedetto and Cristian Pellerano scored as Tijuana erased a second half deficit to defeat C.F. Monterrey 2-1, moving up to sixth place in the 2014 Torneo Clausura. The win extended Xolos’ home unbeaten streak to 17 games.

After a back-and-forth first half, Monterrey attacker Cesar Delgado put Los Rayados up in the 65th minute when he launched a shot from beyond the penalty area that sailed past Xolos goalkeeper Cirilo Saucedo.

Tijuana needed just 10 minutes to equalize when Benedetto, who came on for American Herculez Gomez in the second half, smashed a close-range opportunity into the back of the Monterrey net. The winner came in the 86th minute as a Juan Hernandez header found a lurking Pellerano setting up an easy finish for the Argentine midfielder.

Club Tijuana returns to action on Feb. 14 when they travel to Torreon to take on Santos Laguna with hopes of snapping their 17-match road winless streak.

Less than 20 hours after defeating FC Shirak on Saturday, the LA Galaxy hit the road bound for Mexico ahead of a week of preseason preparations away from StubHub Center.

I’ll be providing analysis and coverage during the Galaxy’s travels this week, which include a trip to Mexico City to face Pumas UNAM in a closed-door scrimmage before the team returns to the U.S. and makes a brief jaunt to Central California for a match against the San Jose Earthquakes in Fresno.

The LA Galaxy striker scored the game-winner in LA’s 2-1 victory over Armenian club FC Shirak on Saturday and then revealed to the world that he and his wife Madison will be having their first son who is due in March with a trademark ‘rock the baby’ celebration following his strike. The goal was extra sweet for Zardes, who readily admits that his inaccuracy during the 2013 season was due to his eagerness to “blast everything,” but on Saturday, he was able to calmly launch a shot from 20 yards into the back of the net.

“It feels wonderful. You work hard in training and putting one in the back of the net during a game it feels great,” said Zardes who had four goals in all competitions last season. “It felt good to get back up top, I feel like I’ve been away [from the position] for a while, but whether it’s wide or up top, I love playing both positions.”

According to Zardes, it was a training game that he played with Associate head coach Dave Sarachan that helped refine his touch heading into the 2014 season.

“I felt I was more composed once I collected the ball and I just looked up and placed my shot. It's all due to a game we play with Dave called ‘Knockout,’” said Zardes. “The ball comes at you at the top of the D and you control it and place it. I felt like that repetition helped me on that goal.”

CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy may have played most of their players during Saturday’s victory over FC Shirak, but there was one notable exception: midfielder Robbie Rogers.

Rogers was unavailable for the match against the Armenian side after suffering a left ankle sprain. The injury is an unfortunate one for Rogers who endured multiple injuries in 2013 and had been one of the team’s top performers in the preseason to date.

Although Rogers was unable to take the field against Shirak, Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena was hopeful that he’d be back on the field soon.

“Just an ankle [injury]. He’ll be ready to go soon,” said Arena. “A lot of players get injuries. It’s part of the game … his is a little unfortunate, it came out of nowhere, but he’ll be fine. He started the preseason off well and I’m hopeful that he’ll be back."

ARENA: “I thought it was a good exhibition. I thought FC Shirak played really well, they put a lot of pressure and they tested us. Obviously they looked like a team that was a little more fit than we were. I think it was a good game. They are very well organized, good pace on the counter. They put our guys in some difficult situations, which is good. I think it was a very good exhibition match at this time of the year, obviously there is a lot of things we have to work on. ... The group in the second half played well. They were tested a bit more in the first half. We can detect some areas we need to work on, but I’m pleased overall, being able to play all of tonight’s players. Just getting a better feel for our team.”

(On Samuel getting a goal...)

ARENA: “Anytime a striker scores a goal it’s good for his confidence. I think he has a way to go, his fitness has to get better, he’s still not on the same page as all the guys. But he has worked real hard, and has made progress since he’s been here so that’s good to see.”

(On Gyasi Zardes Scoring...)

ARENA: “Very good finish, I don’t think he would’ve finished that play last year. He had a good night, and we are going to be playing him in both positions.”

(On the play of Raul Mendiola...)

ARENA: “He is a little raw, but he plays with confidence. A lot of good plays, some not so good, but good for his first time.”

(On triaist Dan Gargan and James Riley as well as the rest of the defense...)

ARENA: “Both are experienced players, I was surprised Riley had as much in him because he just came in this week and hadn’t trained much, and to get 30 solid minutes is good. Dan had an injury last week and held up well. I thought [Kofi Opare] and [Kyle Venter] did well and I thought that Leonardo had a very good night for us. Omar was solid, and it was good to see. ”

(On FC Shirak players and whether they could play in MLS...)

ARENA: "A lot of them [could], [Tigran Davtyan] was good, the pace of [Serge Deble] was very good, the center back [Kadio Boris] was very good, and [Davit Hakobyan] was good. [They have] a bunch of good players. It’s an experienced team, played in [both] the Champions League and the Europa League. There's good experienced players out there."